Vengeance Is Mine, Part 1 of 4
by Trey Strains
Summary: Alan Scott and Raker Qarrigat must stop the Spectre from carrying out his terrible final judgment on the human race.


LOGLINES FOR EMERALD FLAME

These are the loglines for ten four-issue stories. The issues will follow a six-panel grid on the inside pages, so that they'll offer more story each month than is typically provided now.

1. Alan Scott joins the Green Lantern Corps to prevent the Starheart from destroying Earth.

2. Alan and Raker Qarrigat must stop the Spectre from carrying out his terrible final judgment on the human race.

3. Scott Communications purchases the Daily Planet, and Alan suspects that one of his new employees isn't quite what he seems to be.

4. Alan must oppose Dr. Fate, who has somehow become unhinged.

5. A strange being who calls himself the Vortex is murdering nuclear scientists around the world.

6. Alan stakes Ralph Dibney and Patrick O'Brian as the publishers of a new alternative weekly.

7. Alan and Jim battle Vandal Savage and Solomon Grundy.

8. Maxwell Lord attempts a hostile takeover of Scott Communications, seeking to force Alan out.

9. Alan disappears, and Jenny and Todd go looking for him.

10. Superman is exiled to the Phantom Zone, and he must watch helplessly as Brainiac carries out a plan to kill Alan.

EMERALD FLAME #5

VENGEANCE IS MINE, PART ONE OF FOUR

PAGE ONE

BANNER: VENGEANCE IS MINE - PROLOGUE

SPLASH: It's a rainy night in a wooded area. A curvy and hilly road winds through the trees. A 1927 Cadillac Victoria Coupe is running off the road.

CAPTION: In Metropolis in 1928, young newlywed Vicky Messick's day has suddenly turned very bad.

PAGE TWO

PANEL 1: The car is rolling over.

Silent panel

PANEL 2: The car ends up on its side, with a lot of damage but the lights on.

Silent panel

PANEL 3: Inside the car, Vicky is lying on her back against the driver's door. She's bleeding from the head and is dazed.

Silent panel

PANEL 4: Vicky is struggling to get out of the car, but it seems like a hopeless task.

1. Vicky: Ohhhh...

PANEL 5: A 1920 Ford Model T is approaching, traveling in the same direction that Vicky was. Vicky's car is in the foreground.

Silent panel

PANEL 6: A view through the Model T's windshield shows Vicky's car on the roadside ahead. The male driver of the second car can be seen obliquely. He's about 30 years old, has red hair and is wearing a suit.

PAGE THREE

PANEL 1: A better view of the male driver, who has pulled off on the other side of the road from Vicky's vehicle and is getting a crowbar out of his car. He looks rough and scary.

Silent panel

PANEL 2: Looking upward from a point near Vicky's head. Her head is visible obliquely. The man has climbed atop her car and opened the passenger's door, and is looking down at her.

1. Vicky: Oh, thank God.

PANEL 3: Zoom in, concentrate on the man.

2. The Man: Try to relax. I'll have you out of there in a minute.

3. Vicky: I'm so lucky you came. Hardly anyone drives through here at this hour.

PANEL 4: Reverse angle, concentrate on Vicky.

4. The Man: How badly are you hurt?

5. Vicky: My ankle might be broken. I need to go to a hospital.

PANEL 5: The man is standing outside Vicky's car near the windshield, having drawn back the crowbar.

6. The Man: I'm going to break out your windshield. Cover your eyes and keep your mouth closed.

PANEL 6: The man is smashing the windshield. which is collapsing.

Silent panel

PAGE FOUR

PANEL 1: The windshield is now pretty much broken out.

1. The Man: Are you OK?

2. Vicky: Except for my ankle.

3. The Man: I think you'll come right out of there with no trouble.

PANEL 2: The man is carrying Vicky across the road toward his car.

4. The Man: That's a nice car you were driving.

5. Vicky: And you're a nice man for doing this. Oh, my ankle hurts so bad.

PANEL 3: The man is lying Vicky down in the shadows on the roadside.

6. The Man: I'm going to put you here where nobody can see us.

PANEL 4: The man is glowering and taking off his shirt. Vicki is visible in the foreground.

7. Vicky: What are you doing?

PANEL 5: Closer on the the man, who is continuing to remove his shirt. Vicky can't be seen now.

8. Vicky: I said, what are you doing?

PANEL 6: Close on Vicky's horrified face.

9. The Man: This just isn't your night, lady.

PAGE FIVE

PANEL 1: Mobster Gat Benson is seated at a desk, and his men are facing him. They're wearing suits of the era.

Caption: In an an abandoned warehouse on the waterfront, mobster Gat Benson and his associates await the arrival of a cop who's on their payroll.

1. Benson: Act friendly toward him at first. He's probably armed. And he's damned sure dangerous.

2. Henchman #1: If there's one thing I love, it's police corruption.

PANEL 2: Close on Benson.

3. Benson: Yeah, but our friend Mr. Corrigan didn't just screw the police. He screwed me too. And let what's about to happen to him be a warning to any of you who might ever get the same idea.

PANEL 3: Henchman #2 is looking through a window across the docks. He sees Corrigan coming from his Model T toward the warehouse. Corrigan is the same man who pulled Vicky from her wrecked car.

4. Henchman #2: Here he comes.

PANEL 4: Corrigan is in the doorway, which Henchman #1 has opened for him.

5. Henchman #1: Hey, it's Officer Corrigan. Come right on in, sir. Nothing illegal's going on here.

PANEL 5: Corrigan has halfway crossed the room toward Benson's desk

6: Benson: Gentleman Jim. The man who makes it all happen. After I tell him what to do.

PANEL 6: Corrigan is now standing before the desk, and some of the hoodlums have closed in behind him. In the background, one of the henchmen is closing the door.

7. Corrigan: I hope this is something good, Benson. This is way outside my time zone.

PAGE SIX

PANEL 1: One of the thugs has moved close behind Corrigan, who suddenly looks startled.

8. Benson: It's good for me, Jimmy, but it's bad for you. That's a gun sticking in your back, if you couldn't guess.

PANEL 2: One of the henchmen is patting Corrigan down.

1. Corrigan: What is this?

PANEL 3: From behind Corrigan, one of the henchmen can be seen handcuffing him.

2. Benson: My boy, my boy. You're such a disappointment to me. But this is what happens to anyone who skims off the top.

3. Corrigan: That's not true.

PANEL 3: The henchman who was patting Corrigan down his holding up two revolvers.

3. Henchman: He was hiding two pieces. This man is bloodthirsty.

4. Benson: Jimmy boy, please don't die with a lie on your lips. You're better than that.

PANEL 5: Two of the henchmen are carrying the struggling Corrigan to one side of the room.

5. Corrigan: What are you doing?

6. Benson: Nothing more than common decency requires of me.

PANEL 6: The henchmen, now joined by a third one, are lowering the struggling Corrigan into a steel barrel.

7. Benson: That cold squishy stuff down around your feet there is cement, Jimmy boy. So that when your body starts to rot, the gasses won't raise the barrel to the surface of the lake.

PAGE SEVEN

PANEL 1: The view is from inside the barrel looking up, as one of the henchmen is lowering the lid down on the terrified Corrigan.

1. Corrigan: No! Please! I can pay you!

PANEL 2: One of the henchmen is using a blowtorch to solder the lid on the barrel.

2. Corrigan (from inside the barrel): You don't need to do this!

3. Benson: And you didn't need to cheat me either.

PANEL 3: A forklift being operated by one of the henchmen is lifting the barrel.

Silent panel.

PANEL 4: The forklift is moving across the dock toward the ramp of a waiting boat, being followed by the henchmen. Benson is standing in the building's doorway, watching.

4. Corrigan (from inside the barrel): They'll catch you Benson. I left all kinds of evidence in my office incriminating you.

5. Benson: Yeah, I'll bet you did.

PANEL 5: The ship is moving across the lake with the barrel on the deck, surrounded by the henchmen.

Silent panel.

PANL 6: From a viewpoint looking up from the surface of the water near the boat, the barrel is seen plunging down, having been rolled off the beck by the henchmen.

3. Corrigan (from inside the barrel): Benson!

PAGE EIGHT

PANEL 1: This panel is simply jet black.

Silent panel

PANEL 2: An emerald glow is starting to illuminate the scene. Corrigan is wearing the same clothes he was wearing earlier, complete with cement caking, and is standing inside what looks like a giant natural crystal.

Silent panel

PANEL 3: The scene is better illuminated now. Corrigan is frightened and bewildered.

1. Corrigan: Where is this?

2. A Voice (from off-panel): You're in a very special place. And that's because you're a very special fellow, Mr. Corrigan. But I believe you already had that opinion about yourself, didn't you?

PANEL 4: A figure now appears before the crystal, illuminated by the same emerald glow. He's very attractive and actually elegant-looking, which clashes with the personality he's about to display.

3. Corrigan: Who are you?

4. The Figure: It makes no difference to you who I am. What's important is that you were on the way to where the dead go, but I brought you here instead.

PANEL 5: Corrigan looks increasingly frightened.

5. Corrigan: Is this hell?

6. The Figure: That would be an appropriate destination for you, wouldn't it, sir? But someone like you would best be put to work.

PANEL 6: Close on the confused and frightened Corrigan.

7. Corrigan: What are you talking about?

8. The Figure: You, my friend, are going to make yourself useful for a change. You're going to punish people who do evil.

PAGE NINE

PANEL 1: Pull back some, still with only Corrigan in the panel. He's growing bolder, and angry.

1. Corrigan: I thought you were the devil. Why would you want to punish the evil?

2. The Figure: I'm not any such personage. And I told you it's not important to you who I am.

2: Pull back more, taking in both of them.

3: Corrigan: What's wrong with punishing the wicked?

4. The Figure: For your own sake, Mr. Corrigan, you should be very glad that that's not what's normally done.

PANEL 3: Close on the Figure, with a view from below.

5. The Figure: It's just something that I do. But you can think whatever you want to about it.

PANEL 4: Pull back some, still with only the Figure visible.

6: The Figure: Anyway, I'm sure you'll enjoy punishing people under the cloak of righteousness just as much as living humans do. I certainly enjoyed it when I was alive.

PANEL 5: The figure raises a hand and shoots a lighting bolt toward the crystal.

7. The Figure: You have a very fertile imagination along those lines. I'm sure you'll provide me and yourself with much satisfaction.

PANEL 6: There's a blinding flash of white. Corrigan and the crystal can be seen in sketchy white lines, being blasted by the lightning.

Silent panel

PAGE TEN

BANNER: VENGEANCE IS MINE - PART 1

SPLASH: Raker Qarrigat has been flying through space. In an explosion of green energy, he's holding his ears and contorting. It's a Gil Kane-style contortion.

CAPTION: In the present day, in deep space, Green Lantern at large Raker Qarrigat is rocked by a sudden horrifying revelation.

PAGE ELEVEN

PANEL 1: Raker is flying toward Pluto.

CAPTION: The badly shaken Raker makes his way toward the nearest star, which is our Sun. But he approaches Pluto rather than Earth.

Silent panel

PANEL 2: Raker, looking drained, is sitting on a rock formation on Pluto's surface. His power ring is glowing.

CAPTION: He hasn't wanted to attract the attention of the evil whose existence he has detected on Earth.

Silent panel

PANEL 3: Close on Raker's troubled face.

CAPTION: Something is stirring inside him. Something new and awful.

Silent panel

PANEL 4: On Raker's ring, which is glowing.

CAPTION: His power ring, which has served him so well and for so long, suddenly seems inadequate to face the threat that's looming.

Silent panel

PANEL 5: Taking in Raker and the surroundings. He's now standing up, and a beam is shooting out of his power ring and into space.

1. Raker: Alan, come quickly. I need you. And make sure you're not followed.

PANEL 6: Raker is now standing up and gazing into the distance.

CAPTION: And now, for the first time in hie life, Raker Qarrigat, who is the noblest of the Green Lanterns and who has faced horrors beyond all reckoning, knows fear.

Silent panel

PAGE TWELVE

PANEL 1: Derby Dickles and Percival Popp are engaged in a bit of an argument. A sign on the opened door reads, Derby Dickles, Head of Fleet Maintenance. Percival is standing before the desk, behind which Derby is seated. Derby is wearing a small, homemade-looking pouch around his neck.

CAPTION: At the worldwide headquarters of Scott Communications...

1. Derby: Percival, you're talking to the man who was here the whole time and saw the whole thing. Allie ain't nothin' like his old man. That old buzzard was a cut-throat.

PANEL 2: Concentrate on Percival, who looks miffed.

2. Derby: Allie could never have built an empire like this. He's ain't ruthless enough. But he knows what to do with it now that he's got it.

3. Percival: Mr. Scott can do anything he wants to. He's a prime example of the miracle of capitalism.

PANEL 3: Close-up of Derby.

3. Derby: Listen, Stump, he's a prime example of a guy who doesn't leave bodies layin' in the ditch while he enriches himself.

**Note to artist: Derby calls Percival "Stump" even though Derby is much shorter and stockier than Percival.**

PANEL 4: Derby is lighting a cigar.

Silent panel.

PANEL 4: Concentrate on Percival, who's covering his nose and mouth as if Derby has unleashed an attack of poison gas. The badge on Percival's lapel is visible. It reads, Percival Popp, Head of Building Security.

4. Percival: I don't know why Mr. Scott allows you to smoke those horrid things on his property.

5. Derby: This is the garage, Percival. The air here is filled with carbon monoxide, gasoline fumes, battery acid and God know what else. People come here by invitation only, and it ain't no place for the delicate.

PANEL 5: Percival is running out the door just as Alan is coming in.

5. Alan: Well, you're in a hurry.

6. Percival: I value my health, Mr. Scott. And I value yours too, so I hope you won't stay in there for long.

PANEL 6: Derby is putting out his cigar in an ashtray as Alan approaches.

7. Derby: I always light one of these when I get ready for Stump to leave. I don't even like the darned things.

PAGE THIRTEEN

PANEL 1: A view through the windshield as Percival is driving Alan in Gertrude through the city. Alan, who is in the back seat, is covering his mouth and nose with his hand. **Note to the artist and the colorist: There are purple curtains in the car.**

1. Derby: Hey Allie, did you notice da poiple coitains I installed? Whddaya think?

2. Alan: Yes I did, but I'm noticing something else a lot more. Derby, what's that awful smell?

PANEL 2: Derby had removed the small bag from around his neck and is extending it toward Alan, and Alan is recoiling from it.

3. Derby: Gee, I dunno, Allie. My nose is all stopped up. Could it be this?

4. Alan: Agh! That's it all right. What in the world is that?

PANEL 3: Close on Derby, who is grinning.

5. Derby: Aw heck, every time I listen to Stump, I go wrong. He told me to wear it around my neck and it would cure my cold.

PANEL 4: Alan is rolling down his window.

6. Alan: Derby, throw it out. It's gagging me.

7. Derby: Aw, I can't do that, Allie. We ain't far from your place, and I'd get cited for littering.

8: Alan: Just throw it out. I'll pay the fine.

PANEL 5: Derby is oblivious to Alan's distress.

9. Derby: Stump called it an Asiphidity Bag. His grandmother was from the mountains of West Virginia, and her family used them. I dunno, I guess she was a West Virginia mountain mama. Ha, Ha!

10: Alan: If you don't throw it out of here right now, I'm going to throw you out.

PANEL 6. A view of Gertrude moving through the city. All the windows are down, and the bag is flying out through the driver's window.

10. Derby: I just don't like the idea of feeding the rats, Allie.

11: Alan: No rat with any self-respect would come near that thing.

PAGE FOURTEEN

PANEL 1: In the kitchen of Alan's home, Molly is setting out dinner. Todd and Jenny are sitting at the table. Molly looks rather amused.

1. Todd: I wouldn't ask you to do it, Jenny, but I'm really overworked with football practice and my classes.

2. Jenny: No, Todd, I'm not going to to be the president of your fan club and answer your mail. I have things to do too.

PANEL 2: Favoring Molly, who is grinning.

3. Molly: Jenny, maybe you could at least call his attention to the ones that include pics of cute girls.

4. Jenny: Oh, please.

PANEL 3: Molly is looking through the window. Outside, Alan has gotten out of Gertrude. The family's German Shepherd, King, has his forepaws on Alan's thigh, greeting him.

5. Molly: I was just kidding, Jenny.

6. Todd: She can't do it, Mom. She's too busy saving the environment.

PANEL 4: Close on Jenny.

7: Jenny: Yeah, well, you just keep throwing footballs and I'll just keep saving the environment. All right? And we'll see which one turns out to matter the most.

PANEL 5: Alan is standing in the kitchen doorway, now wearing his Green Lantern uniform.

8. Alan: Sorry, I'm gonna miss dinner. Interplanetary duty calls. That stuff sure smells good though.

9. Molly: Someday I won't cook a dinner. Then you won't get called away.

PANEL 6: Alan has disappeared in a green flash. Todd looks a bit embarrassed.

10. Jenny: If you insist on being a football hero, Todd, you've got to take a little bitter with all that sweetness you get from the cheerleaders.

11. Molly: Todd, is that true?

PAGE FIFTEEN

PANEL 1: On Pluto, Alan is sitting on a rock formation as Raker paces before him.

1. Alan: I'm not an expert on the subject, but I could tell you a few things about the Spectre.

2. Raker: I've never sensed such evil. It was shocking in its intensity.

PANEL 2: Close on Alan.

3. Alan: Nobody knows where he came from. He says he's the avenger of evil on Earth. But his vengeance is arbitrary and capricious. And it's cruel.

PANEL 3: Favoring Raker.

4. Raker: I got a brief glimpse into his mind, Alan. And I realized that he was trying to tap into the energy of the power rings. He was going to use it to punish the whole human race for its wickedness.

PANEL 4: Equal favoring of Alan and Raker.

5. Alan: He needs to be punished for his own wickedness.

6: Raker: What are his powers?

PANEL 5: Closeup on Alan.

7. Alan: Apparently they're not as great as some people have imagined. If they were, he wouldn't want the green energy.

PANEL 6: A graphed tracking screen has risen from Raker's ring.

8. Raker: I was able to patch the green energy against any further intrusions he might make, and I've realized that there might be a way to find him.

PAGE SIXTEEN

PANEL 1: All six panels from this page are drawn from the same point of view. In the first panel, a crystal is seen resting in a skeletal hand, and Alan and Raker's ongoing conversation can be seen within the crystal.

1. Raker: The ring was able to pick up the peculiar energy that powers him. It was impossible to analyze, but it might be possible to locate.

PANEL 2: The view of Alan and Raker inside the crystal is the same as in the previous panel.

2. Alan: We have to be careful that he doesn't see us coming after him. We need to surprise him. We'll have to cloak ourselves as thoroughly as possible.

PANEL 3: The skeletal fingers close over the crystal.

Silent panel

PANEL 4: The hand squeezes the crystal with tremendous force.

Silent panel

PANEL 5: The crystal shatters under the force that the hand has applied to it.

Silent panel

PANEL 6: The hand has opened, and what's left of the crystal - rubble and dust - is lying in it.

Silent panel

PAGE SEVENTEEN

PANEL 1: On Pluto, Alan and Raker are looking at the graph.

1: Raker: Ring, starting from where we're located now, search for the being who tried to tap into the green energy.

2. Raker's Ring: Searching...

PANEL 2: The graph is displaying a map of Earth.

Raker's Ring: That energy is usually located on the planet Earth, but occasionally ventures away. It's intelligently directed.

PANEL 3: On Alan and Raker, excluding the hologram.

Raker: Can you find the being who directs it?

Raker's Ring: I detect a trail of energy flying through the Earth's atmosphere. It's thoroughly cloaked against the senses of Earth creatures or all Earth technology.

PANEL 4: Close on the hologram, which is displaying a map of Russia.

Raker: Ring, where is he going?

Raker's Ring: He's on a path to Siberia, Russia.

PANEL 5: Close on Alan's face.

Alan: There's no telling what he's going to do, but that's where Russia keeps a lot of its ICBMs. We need to find him fast. Rings, cloak us as thoroughly as possible and lead us to that energy source.

PANEL 6: Alan and Raker are flying away from Pluto. The view is from above, so that they seem to be coming toward the viewer.

PAGE EIGHTEEN

PANEL 1: Molly had been asleep in her first-floor bedroom but has been awakened by a furious barking outside. She's sitting up in bed.

Silent panel

PANEL 2: Molly is looking out her window at King, who is standing in front of his doghouse and barking wildly at something that Molly can't see from her angle.

Silent panel

PANEL 3: Molly is crossing the living roon and moving toward the front door.

1. Molly: I've never heard such a racket.

PANEL 4: In the side yard, Molly is approaching King, who is infuriated.

2. Molly: What's wrong, boy?

PANEL 5: Molly and King are looking off panel at something that's terrifying. Molly's face is contorted with fear, and King's ears are now slicked back and his tail is tucked.

Silent panel

PANEL 6: There's an explosion of whiteness, and everything is now depicted in sketchy black lines against a white background. The blast has lifted Molly and King a bit off the ground.

Silent panel

PAGE NINETEEN

PANEL 1: Jenny's bedroom is also lit up by the white flash, but the black lines here aren't as sketchy as in the previous panel, indicating that the flash is fading. Jenny has been sleeping on her side and has raised herself up on one hand. She's looking toward her window.

Silent panel

PANEL 2: Jenny has crossed the room and looking out of her second-floor window to the yard below. She sees Molly and King lying on the ground, their bodies contorted and smoldering.

Silent panel

PANEL 3: Jenny is running down the upstairs hallway toward the top of the staircase.

1. Jenny: Todd, hurry! It's Mom! She's hurt!

Panel 4: From a low angle at the bottom of the steps tilted straight up toward her, Jenny is near the bottom of the steps. Tood can be seen above, coming through the door of his bedroom.

Silent panel

PANEL 5: Jenny's expression is frantic as she runs across the living room toward the front door.

Silent panel

PANEL 6: From a low angle with a bit of the ceiling in view, Jenny is seen reaching toward the knob of the front door.

Silent panel

PAGE TWENTY

SPLASH: The viewpoint is the same as in the previous panel, except pulled back to take in a much wider view. Jenny has opened the front door, and is facing the Spectre. This is not exactly the Spectre that we've known. He's eight feet tall, and is fully skeletal. He's wearing no body stocking, boots, shorts or mask. Instead he looks like the classic representation of the Grim Reaper. He's wearing only a green cape and cowl, with the cape reaching nearly to the ground. His nand is extended ominously toward Jenny.

CAPTION: To be continued.

Silent panel

***Suggested cover: Alan and Raker are charging their rings on a power battery that has a skull depicted in it. The skull has a green flame burning in each eye socket.

Logline for Part Two: Alan and Raker face an appalling foe whose wrath extends to their loved ones.


End file.
